Sensex surges 1,266 points; Nifty maintains above 9,000

Dubai - Healthy buying in telecom, auto, pharma, banking and finance stocks supported the indices.

The Indian stock markets closed Thursday trading on positive note by adding 1,266 points or 4.23 per cent to touch 31,159.62 points and Nifty50 up 3.43 per cent or nearly 300 points to maintain at 9,048.70 points.
The surge in shares was in line with the Asian indices, analysts said. Healthy buying in telecom, auto, pharma, banking and finance stocks also supported the indices.
According to a research note issued by Edelweiss Professional Investor Research, the novel coronavirus, or Covid-19, pandemic has caused severe supply-side disruptions in various sectors, earnings will be cut by 10-15 per cent.
Pharma as a sector has emerged as a strong contender to drive the next leg of rally, whenever it comes. In anticipation, pharma stocks have seen a huge run up in the last 10 days. This is not just true for India, but globally too pharma companies have performed well.
Around 11.55am, Sensex was trading at 30,906.60, higher by 1,012.64 points or 3.39 per cent from the previous close of 29,893.96. It had opened at 30,571.19 and touched an intra-day high of 30,955.72 and a low of 30,420.22.
The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange was trading at 9,044.20, higher by 295.45 points or 3.38 per cent from its previous close.
Among the Sensex stocks, the top gainers were Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki India and Bajaj Auto, while Hindustan Unilever, Tech Mahindra and IndusInd Bank were the only losers.
Indian stock markets will remain close tomorrow on account of 'Good Friday' and on April 14 on account of Dr.Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti.
- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com, with inputs from ians